


Songs in the Key of Lux

by ExpressAndAdmirable



Series: The Heroes of Light [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Final Fantasy I
Genre: Bards Being Bards, F/F, Gen, Tiefling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 12:24:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13146654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExpressAndAdmirable/pseuds/ExpressAndAdmirable
Summary: Lux processes her new reality by putting her companions to music.





	Songs in the Key of Lux

**Author's Note:**

> The first Lux story I wrote, when I was still getting a feel for her and how she sees and understands the world. She's been through a lot in her life, but nothing quite like being chosen by destiny. Also a brief intro to the rest of the PCs in the campaign (before Feldon left and Grummer replaced him).

Lux was not a very good guard. This did not come as a surprise to her. While she could see in the dark as well as any of her kind, it was her mind that was the trouble. Scanning the tree line at the edge of the campfire would quickly give way to listening to the patterns of the night sounds and finding their melodies. She would combine them into harmonies, rounds, whole symphonies if she listened long enough, her long fingers plucking and striking imaginary instruments. Then a branch would snap and she would jerk to attention, peering into the darkness for what felt like an eternity. When nothing appeared, she would drift again. She at least had the presence of mind to leave her lute next to her bedroll, so as not to wake the sleepers scattered around the fire. It wasn’t truly necessary for composition anyway; Lux knew the instrument as well as a lover, playing the empty air in its place and committing the notes to memory. She missed her fiddle, but one does not deny a Princess when she offers you a trade.

In truth, Lux did not like taking watch shifts alone, though she would never admit it. It made her feel silly. The feeling of being alone, something she had known her entire life, had become strangely foreign to her in the few short weeks since Destiny had attacked. She had never realised how much she hated it; it had felt so normal before. It was the way of things. It was safer. She had built the Lux persona specifically to keep people away from Aviva. Makeup was her armour, music her shield, and the crowds loved it. They loved Lux, the sparkling, larger-than-life creature who could weave magic with her strings and move their hearts with song. For Lux, they would overlook her unfortunate lineage (or perhaps it was part of the appeal). They had no interest in Aviva, and she preferred it that way. It meant she didn’t get hurt.

As her gaze drifted over her companions in their slumber, Lux composed for them.

_Feldon Brash, whose name is music that almost writes itself. A stately march, with swelling brass and a dramatic finish. A layer of strings that recall the roll and sway of the ocean. He fancies himself a man of the sea, but he’s more than that. Sailors are wild, free; Feldon is anything but. Called to service by the God of his Draconic people: an honour, but an isolating one. Such vows are a heavy burden to bear. There are dark tones beneath the brassy melody in Feldon’s song._

_Wilhelm Husk, a stranger in both his worlds. Two melodies, staccato, tense, unsure if they will ever intertwine. Almost dissonant, a competition of wooden flutes and the rich darkness of an oud, punctuated by deep drums. They seem to chase each other, vying for dominance, the Wood Elf and the Human. But they do come together, and from their union comes the clear, simple voice of the fiddle. The end is calm. He will find himself someday._

_Cidney Morgan, with a heart too big for her little frame. Bright, high piccolo or ney, perhaps improvised. Birdlike. Gnomish. Double-time melody, but an underlayer of melancholy strings starts softly, shamisen and fiddle. Often forgotten by a world not made for her, only noticed when something goes wrong. Frightened of being useless. The two play on one another, searching for balance. Eventually, a harmony, opening into rich, soaring strings. The finale ends high and sounds of hope._

_Bornelius, avatar of the Earth itself. The strong drone of bagpipes, a melody surprisingly meditative and peaceful for such an instrument. Rolling hand drums, not so heavy as one would think, with a delicate, intricate rhythm. Such a soft touch for a Dwarf, a race often expected to be as loud and heavy as possible. A banjo joins, a complimentary melody. Francis, the faithful, at his side. It finishes simply, with no pretension._

_And Sol. Ah, Sol. Sol Feldryn, who can make Lux’s heart ache or flutter with a glance. A chosen name, shielding her from the past. Two voices, one the drone, the other rising and falling, melismatic. The latter keens, calling to mind the echoing corridors of vast, dark Drow places. At first mournful, then determined, the singer’s wordless intonation shifts again to evoke something akin to peace. A wish projected onto vocal tones, made manifest in song. Both voices fade, their story told. It is one of many songs Lux will write for Sol._

A branch snapped. Lux jumped, startled to attention, and peered out into the greying trees. Nothing. She sighed and lit a cigarette. It would be morning soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr at @expressandadmirable for a proper table of contents for the Heroes campaign, commissioned character art, text-based roleplay snippets and more!


End file.
